Coin shaped objects



Nov. 16, 1965 sz 3,217,513

COIN SHAPED OBJECTS Original Filed Dec. 14, 1959 V////////////////I//////A /3 1! i /3 INVENTOR.

l# 8 Q B TTOK/VEYJ United States Patent 3211513 Patented Nov. 16, 1965 licc 3,217,513 COKN SHAPED OBJECTS Leslie Szikla, 300 W. 109th St., New York, NY. Original application Ser. No. 859,296, Dec. 14, 1959, now Patent No. 3,091,142, dated May 28, 1963. Divide& and this application Mar. 28, 1963, Ser. No. %8,611 2 Clains. (Ci. 63-23) The present invention is directed to certain forms of jewelry, specifically charms or pendants made from thin sheet material and giving the appearance of a heavy, expensive charm.

This application is a division of my copending application Ser. No. 859,296, filed December 14, 1959, now Patent No. 3,091,l42, issued May 28, 1963, and entitled "Coin Shaped Objects and Apparatus fpr Making Same.

It is often desired to produce charms made out of precious metal from very thin sheets so that a smaller amount of metal is used and consequently the item can sell at a low price. Among the disadvantages of such thin charms is the fact that the thin material is not only unattractive and cheap in appearance, but also the thin edge is likely to cut the skin or Clothing because of its sharpness.

In the past, such items have been manufactured by the use of a hollow, stamped gold frame into which is fitted the thin central portion 'of the article. This requires a very careful soldering operation which must later be touched up so that it does not show. Furthermore, if other ornaments are to be applied to the article by soldering, there is a very good chance that the seam binding the frame to the central portion will loosen up. Furthermore, there is a likelihood of buckling of the thin portion of the article due to the application of heart necessary for soldering. In addition to the foregoing, each frame must be individually fitted to the central portion since there are variations in size between the frames.

It is also important that a separate set of dies and stampings must be made for each size of article and consequently in order to maintain a complete line of ornaments of .this character, a large number of tools and dies must be kept in stock.

It is among the ,objects of this invention to provide a charm with a thick rim around its periphery.

It is also among the objects of this invention to provide a charm made of thin sheet metal which gives the appearance of a heavy, thick :piece of jewelry.

It is further among the objects of this inventon to provide a charm which is comparatively irexpensive to manufacture but looks expensive when completed. The new charms according to this invention are manufactured as follows:

There is provided a set of three rollers which are spaced apart and at least one of which has a rectangular groove therein. Preferably all three rollers will be grooved and the grooves are in substantially .the same plane. The rollers are rotated by a motor driving a series of gears which transfer the power to the rollers. Each of the rollers is mounted on an element and there is provided a ring surrounding the rollers, with a link joining each element with the ring. Urging means is applied to the ring acting through the links to press the rollers against an article which is held in the grooves thereof. This pressure together with the rotation pf the rollers causes the edges to distort and assume the shape of the grooves.

The elements are pivotally mounted with respect to a support and the rollers are mounted on a rotatable shaft on the elements.

The rollers are .powered through a driving gear mounted on a rotatable drive shaft and connected to the motor, which is the source ot power. Each of the elements is mounted -on an axle rotatably journalled with respect to the support and carries an axle pinion .on the axle and in engagement with the driving gear. Also mounted on the aXle is an aXle driver which in turn engages a roller pinion which is mounted -on the shaft.

The ring is rotatable about its center and there is provided a switch on the ring, said switch having an actuator which will open and close the circuit. A preselector having a number of stepped bearing surfaces is mounted independently of the ring and adjacent to the actuator. As the machine operates, the ring rotates, bringing the switch and its actuator into contact with the bearing surface, thus turning oli the device.

Instead of the bearing surface Contacting the actuator directly, there may alternatively be provided an arm 10- cated radially on the rim and having a pivot point thereon. The preselector is placed adjacent the arm and a contact is provided on the arm. In the operation of this device, the rotation of the ring causes the arm to contact one of the hearing surfaces of the preselector, which in turn causes the arm to pivot ab out its pivot point, bringing the contact against the actuator and opening the circuit. In the form illustrated, the hearing surface is adjacent the outer end of the arm and the contact is intermediate .the pivot point and the outer end of the arm. Obviously the arrangement of the contact, pivot point and portion of the arm against which the preselector bears, may be varied in their relationship to one another without departing from the principles herein disclosed.

In order to provide adjustments between the spaced portions of the preselector, a calibrated screw is threaded transversely in the arm and constitutes the contact. Thus by advancing or retracting the screw, virtually any adjustment may be obtained.

In the accompanying drawings constituting a part hereof, in which like reference characters indicate like parts.

FIG. 1 is a plan View of the apparatus with some protions broken away tor clarity;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view of the article being held in the roller grooves;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing the manner in which the thin sheet material deforms under the influence of the present device to form thickened edges;

FIG. 4 is a view of the automatic shut-off mechanism in the oif position, and

FIG. 5 is a schematic View indicating the movement ,of the rollers with respect to the article.

In practicing this invention, there is provided a base carrying a support and a top plate rigidly mounted with respect to each other. A drive shaft having a pulley is connected to a source of power such as a motor, as by a belt, motor pulley and bevel gears. The drive shaft is journalled between the base and the support and carries in addition to the pulley, a driving gear. An element is pivotally mounted on axle 9 which in turn is rotatably held between the support and top plate.

Axle 9 carries the axle pinion which .is engaged and driven by the driving gear. Also mounted on axle 9 is axle driver 10 which engages a roller pinion, which in turn is mounted on shaft 12. Shaft 12 in entirely journalled in an element and carries at its upper end, roller 13. Roller 13 has grooves 15 onto which article 14 is received and retained. Rotatably mounted on the top plate is ring 16 which slides around on a shoulder.

Interconnecting ring 16 with the element is link '18 which is pivotally fixed to ring 16 at 17 and is pivotally fixed to the element. It will be appreciated that although only one element and associated mechanism has been described, there are at least three of such elements, all of which are driven by the driving gear and which act in the exact same way.

Ring 16 is provided wtih an extension 25 carrying microswitch 26 with actuator 27 thereon. Arm 28 is radially disposed on extension 25 and is pivoted about its near end at pivot point 34. Calibrating screw 33 is threaded transversely through arm 23 and is adapted to contact actuator 27 at contact 35. Preselector 29 independently mounted on ring 16 and extension 25 is pivoted about 39 and is provided with a series of stepped portions 31, each of which has a bearin g surface 32.

In operation, the rollers 13 are opened up by pressure on handle 23 in a clockwise direction, as shown in FIG. 1. This causes movement of ring 16 against the urging of spring 24 'and causes the element to pivot about axle 9. After the rollers are separated, article 114 is placed in the 'space between them and handle 23 is released. The pressure spring 24 tends to move ring le in a counterclockwise direction, exerting pressure on links 13, forcing the elements to pivot about aXle 9 and pressing rollers 13 against article 14.

Power is then turned on and the rotation of the rollers plus their tendency to move in the direction indicated by arrows 38, causes article 14 to distort in the manner shown in FIG. 3. The diameter of the article decreases by an amount as indicated by arrows 22 of `FIG. 3 and gives the edge of the article a thickene d shape 21, determined by the width and character of the grooves 15.

As the power is applied, the motor drives the bevel gear, which in turn drives a mating bevel gear which is mounted on a shaft carrying a motor pulley. The belt transmits the power through the pulley to the drive shaft. The driving gear causes rotation of the three `axle pinions which are mounted on axles 9 which carry the elements. Since the elements pivot about axles 9, no matter what position they assume, the driving gear and aXle pinions are always in eng agement. Axle 9 drives shafts 12 through aXle drivers and the rollers pinions. These shafts in turn cause rotation of rollers `13.

Due to the tension in spring 24 urging ring 16 to rotate in counter-clockwise direction as shown in FG. 1, links 18 are in compression and elements 19 are urged to pivot about axle 9 in a counter-clockwise direction as shown in FIG. 1. This forces rollers 13 in the direction of arrows 38 and exerts a steady pressure on article 14, thus causing a deforrnation and thickening of the edge.

The amount of deformation is controlled by the loss in diameter of the article 14 due to the pressure of rollers 13. As rollers 13 approach each other, ring 16 continues to move in a counter-clockwise direction as shown in FIG. 1. =This causes extension 25 to move in the direction of arrow 36. The amount of movement is controlled by preselector 29 with stopped portions 31 carrying hearing surfaces 32. The appropriate hearing surface is brought into position by suitable pivoting of preselector 29 about 30. As extension 25 moves in the direction of arrow 36, arm 28 bears against beat-ing surface 32, causing arm 28 to pivot about pivot point 34. This brings contact 35 against actuator 27 of microswitch 26, thus breaking the circuit and turning off the motor. In order to obtain adjustrnents between successive stopped portions 31 of preselect-or 29, there is provided calibrated screw 33 which is advanced or retracted a suitable amount to secure the precise adjustment desired.

Alternaitively, preselector 29 may be so pivoted as to bear directly against actuator 27 of switch 26, eliminating the need for arm 28. Calibrating screw 33 or its equivalent would then be mounted directly on preselector 29 to secure the fine adjustment itermediate stepped portion-s 31.

In the foregoin g manner, it is easy to produce thickened edges on thin sheet articles of a wide variety of shapes and sizes. The only change necessary is when the thickness of the thickened portion is to `be Varied and this i's simply a matter of having another set of grooved rollers, It should be noted that achieving a suitable diameter in the end product is merely the result of selection of a suitable size for the starting material and there is a wide latitude in this regard.

It is clear that although only one embodiment of this invention has been specifically illustrated and described, changes such as are obvious to one skilled in the art may `be made without departing from the scope or spirit thereof. For example, the edges of the charms may be fluted, milled or otherwise embelli-shed simply by changing the shape and/or cross-section of the grooves in the rollers. Similarly, lettering or the like can be produced on the edge of the charm.

These and other changes may be made in this invention without departing from the intent thereof and the device described in the present application is to be broadly construed and not to be limited except by the character of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. A substantially fiat disk having a stifi? central body of substantially uniform thickness and an outer edge constituting a continuation of said body, the material of said outer edge having been upset from the edges toward the center of said disk, said upset material overl aying both surfaces of said disk and having annular grooves on opposite sides of said disk and between said upset material and said body surfaces, said edge of said disk being at least twice the thickness of said body, said material having 'been pressed radially inward and said edge material having been forced to overlay both surfiaces of the disk, whereby said stitness is imparted to said body.

2. A disk according to claim 1 characterized in that the top and bottom edges of said upset material are curled inwardly towards the body of said disk.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 184,289 11/1876 Lingg. 1,057,513 4/1913 Wakefield 63-19 2,196,850 4/ 1940 Bostian 40-27 2,500,897 3/ 1950 Friedman.

FOREIGN PATENTS 22,724 1911 Great Britain.

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Prmary Examine', 

1. A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT DISK HAVING A STIFF CENTRAL BODY OF SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM THICKNESS AND AN OUTER EDGE CONSTITUTING A CONTINUATION OF SAID BODY, THE MATERIAL OF SAID OUTER EDGE HAVING BEEN UPSET FROM THE EDGES TOWARD THE CENTER OF SAID DISK, SAID UPSET MATERIAL OVERLYING BOTH SURFACES OF SAID DISK AND HAVING ANNULAR GROOVES ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID DISK AND BETWEEN SAID UPSET MATERIAL AND SAID BODY SURFACES, SAID EDGE OF SAID DISK BEING AT LEAST TWICE THE THICKNESS OF SAID BODY, SAID MATERIAL HAVING BEEN PRESSED RADIALLY INWARD AND SAID EDGE MATERIAL HAVING BEEN FORCED TO OVERLAY BOTH SURFACES OF THE DISK, WHEREBY SAID STIFFNESS IS IMPARTED TO SAID BODY. 